Wireless battery management system, node for wireless communication, and method of transmitting data

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a wireless battery management system which ensures stability when obtaining battery data through wireless communication. The battery management system includes a manager node operating a primary channel and a secondary channel based on wireless communication and obtaining battery data from a monitor node by using the primary channel or the secondary channel and a monitor node connected to a battery module to collect battery data including one or more of a current, a voltage, a temperature, and self-diagnosis data of the battery module, transmit the collected battery data to the manager node through the primary channel, and when the transmission of the battery data through the primary channel fails, transmit the battery data to the manager node through the secondary channel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the Korean Patent Application No.10-2019-0071727 filed on Jun. 17, 2019 and No. 10-2020-0056264 filed onMay 12, 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully setforth herein.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a wireless battery management system,and more particularly, to a wireless battery management system, a nodefor wireless communication, and a method of transmitting data, whichensure stability when obtaining battery data through wirelesscommunication.

BACKGROUND

As the demand for portable electronic products such as notebookcomputers, video cameras, and portable phones increases rapidly andelectric vehicles, storage batteries for storing energy, robots, andsatellites are really developed, research on high-performance batteriescapable of being repeatedly charged and discharged is being activelydone.

A minimum unit of each battery may be referred to as a battery cell, anda plurality of battery cells serially connected to one another mayconfigure a battery module. Also, a plurality of battery modules may beconnected to one another in series or parallel, and thus, may configurea battery pack.

Generally, a battery pack equipped in electric vehicles and the likeincludes a plurality of battery modules connected to one another inseries or parallel. The battery pack includes a battery managementsystem which monitors a state of each of the battery modules andexecutes a control operation corresponding to the monitored state.

The battery management system includes a controller for obtaining andanalyzing battery data. However, each of the battery modules included inthe battery pack includes a plurality of battery cells, and due to this,there is a limitation in monitoring states of all of the battery cellsincluded in the battery pack by using a single controller. Therefore, amethod, where a controller is equipped in each of a certain number ofbattery modules included in a battery pack, one of the controllers isset as a master, and the other controllers are set as slaves, is beingrecently used for distributing a load of a controller and quickly andaccurately monitoring a whole state of a battery pack.

A slave controller equipped in each of a certain number of batterymodules is connected to a master controller over a wired communicationnetwork such as a control area network (CAN), collects battery data of abattery module controlled by the slave controller, and transmits thebattery data to the master controller.

Technology, which sets a short-range wireless channel between the mastercontroller and the slave controller and performs short-range wirelesscommunication between the master controller and the slave controller,has been proposed for preventing the non-efficiency of a space occurringin a case where the CAN is built for communication between the mastercontroller and the slave controller

However, like interference, the degradation in wireless signals, and acollision between the wireless signals, a case where wirelesscommunication is unstable occurs frequently in a short-range wirelesscommunication environment. In such a case where a state of a wirelesscommunication channel is unstable, a situation where the mastercontroller cannot obtain battery data from the slave controller orcannot control the slave controller at an appropriate time occurs,causing a problem where the total quality of a battery pack is degraded.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to providing a wirelessbattery management system, a node for wireless communication, and amethod of transmitting data that substantially obviate one or moreproblems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An aspect of the present disclosure is directed to providing a wirelessbattery management system, a node for wireless communication, and amethod of transmitting data, which support stable communication betweena manager node set as a master and a monitor node set as a slave in awireless communication environment.

Additional advantages and features of the disclosure will be set forthin part in the description which follows and in part will becomeapparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination ofthe following or may be learned from practice of the disclosure. Theobjectives and other advantages of the disclosure may be realized andattained by the structure particularly pointed out in the writtendescription and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof the disclosure, as embodied and broadly described herein, there isprovided a battery management system including: a manager node operatinga primary channel and a secondary channel based on wirelesscommunication and obtaining battery data from a monitor node by usingthe primary channel or the secondary channel; and a monitor nodeconnected to a battery module to collect battery data including one ormore of a current, a voltage, a temperature, and self-diagnosis data ofthe battery module, transmit the collected battery data to the managernode through the primary channel, and when the transmission of thebattery data through the primary channel fails, transmit the batterydata to the manager node through the secondary channel.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a managernode including: a first wireless communication unit forming a primarychannel based on a first frequency along with each of a plurality ofmonitor nodes collecting battery data; a second wireless communicationunit forming a secondary channel based on a second frequency along witheach of the plurality of monitor nodes; and a manager controllerreceiving battery data from each monitor node by using the firstwireless communication unit, receiving battery data of a first monitornode by using the second wireless communication unit when communicationof the first monitor node through the first wireless communication unitis impossible, and when communication of a second monitor node throughthe first and second wireless communication units is impossible,communicating with a third monitor node determined as a relay node byusing the first wireless communication unit or the second wirelesscommunication unit to receive battery data of the second monitor nodefrom the third monitor node.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a monitornode including: a wireless communication unit set to one of a primarychannel and a secondary channel through frequency change to communicatewith a monitor node; an interface connected to a battery module; and amonitor controller collecting battery data including one or more of acurrent, a voltage, a temperature, and self-diagnosis data of thebattery module, transmit the collected battery data to a manager node byusing one of the primary channel and the secondary channel set in thewireless communication unit, and when it is unable to transmit thebattery data to the manager node by using the primary channel and thesecondary channel, broadcasting the battery data to another peripheralmonitor node to transmit the battery data to the manager node via asecond monitor node determined as a relay node.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a methodof transmitting data, the method including: collecting battery dataincluding one or more of a current, a voltage, a temperature, andself-diagnosis data of a battery module; transmitting the collectedbattery data to a manager node through a primary channel; and when thetransmission of the collected battery data fails, transmitting thebattery data to the manager node through the secondary channel.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present disclosure areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the disclosure as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of thedisclosure. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a battery management system accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a data stream according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a network state occurring in a casewhere a manager node communicates with a monitor node by using only aprimary channel;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a data frame structure generated in acase where a manager node communicates with a monitor node by using onlya primary channel;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a network state occurring in a casewhere a manager node communicates with a monitor node by using asecondary channel;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a data frame structure generated in acase where a manager node communicates with a monitor node by using asecondary channel;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example where data of a monitor nodeis provided to a manager node via another monitor node;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a data frame structure generated in acase where a manager node communicates with a monitor node by usinganother monitor node;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart describing a process of setting a relay node androuting battery data through the relay node, according to an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a manager nodeaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart describing a periodic operation of a managernode, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart describing a method of activating a channelchange flag in a manager node, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a monitor nodeaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 14 is a flowchart describing a method of transmitting, by a monitornode, data to a manager node by using one of a primary channel, asecondary channel, and a relay node, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the specification, it should be noted that like reference numeralsalready used to denote like elements in other drawings are used forelements wherever possible. In the following description, when afunction and a configuration known to those skilled in the art areirrelevant to the essential configuration of the present disclosure,their detailed descriptions will be omitted. The terms described in thespecification should be understood as follows.

Advantages and features of the present disclosure, and implementationmethods thereof will be clarified through following embodimentsdescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. The presentdisclosure may, however, be embodied in different forms and should notbe construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather,these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thoroughand complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosureto those skilled in the art. Further, the present disclosure is onlydefined by scopes of claims.

A shape, a size, a ratio, an angle, and a number disclosed in thedrawings for describing embodiments of the present disclosure are merelyan example, and thus, the present disclosure is not limited to theillustrated details. Like reference numerals refer to like elementsthroughout. In the following description, when the detailed descriptionof the relevant known function or configuration is determined tounnecessarily obscure the important point of the present disclosure, thedetailed description will be omitted.

In a case where ‘comprise’, ‘have’, and ‘include’ described in thepresent specification are used, another part may be added unless ‘only-’is used. The terms of a singular form may include plural forms unlessreferred to the contrary.

In construing an element, the element is construed as including an errorrange although there is no explicit description.

In describing a time relationship, for example, when the temporal orderis described as ‘after˜’, ‘subsequent˜’, ‘next˜’, and ‘before˜’, a casewhich is not continuous may be included unless ‘just’ or ‘direct’ isused.

It will be understood that, although the terms “first”, “second”, etc.may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements shouldnot be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguishone element from another. For example, a first element could be termed asecond element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a firstelement, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

The term “at least one” should be understood as including any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items. For example,the meaning of “at least one of a first item, a second item, and a thirditem” denotes the combination of all items proposed from two or more ofthe first item, the second item, and the third item as well as the firstitem, the second item, or the third item.

Features of various embodiments of the present disclosure may bepartially or overall coupled to or combined with each other, and may bevariously inter-operated with each other and driven technically as thoseskilled in the art can sufficiently understand. The embodiments of thepresent disclosure may be carried out independently from each other, ormay be carried out together in co-dependent relationship.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a battery management system accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the battery management system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may include a manager node 100 anda plurality of monitor nodes 200-N, and the manager node 100 and each ofthe monitor nodes 200-N may perform wireless communication therebetween.

In the battery management system according to an embodiment, the managernode 100 may include a controller set as a master, and each of themonitor nodes 200-N may include a controller set as a slave.

In an embodiment, the manager node 100 and each of the monitor nodes200-N may perform wireless communication therebetween according to ashort-range wireless communication protocol based on IEEE 802.15.4+. Inanother embodiment, the manager node 100 and each of the monitor nodes200-N may perform wireless communication therebetween according to aprotocol based on one of IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15, and IEEE 802.15.4, ormay perform wireless communication therebetween according to ashort-range wireless protocol based on another scheme.

Each of the monitor nodes 200-N may be equipped in one or more batterymodules each including a set of cells and may collect battery dataincluding a voltage, a current, a temperature, humidity, and the likeoccurring in the battery module. Also, each of the monitor nodes 200-Nmay autonomously inspect a state of a battery module equipped with acorresponding monitor node by measuring an analog front end (AFE) of thebattery module and inspecting a state (i.e., diagnostic test) of thebattery module, thereby generating a self-diagnosis data including aninspection result.

The manager node 100 may receive battery data, including one or more ofa current, a voltage, a temperature, and self-diagnosis data, from eachof the monitor nodes 200-N and may analyze the received battery data tomonitor a state of each battery module or a state of a battery pack. Themanager mode 100 may analyze data of each battery module received fromeach of the monitor nodes 200-N to estimate the state (for example,state of charge (SOC) and state of health (SOH)) of each battery moduleand a whole state of the battery pack.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the manager node100 may include two or more wireless communication units 110 and 120.Each of the wireless communication units 110 and 120 may include anantenna and a circuit for performing short-range wireless communication.One of the wireless communication units included in the manager node 100may operate as a primary wireless communication unit 110, and the otherwireless communication unit may operate as a secondary wirelesscommunication unit 120. The primary wireless communication unit 110 mayform a primary channel along with each of the monitor nodes 200-N byusing a first frequency, and the secondary wireless communication unit120 may form a secondary channel along with each of the monitor nodes200-N by using a second frequency. Based on frequency interferencebetween the primary channel and the secondary channel, a frequency ofthe primary channel and a frequency of the secondary channel may be setto a previously-set frequency value (for example, 30 MHz) or more so asto be apart from each other.

Moreover, the manager node 100 may preferentially obtain data of abattery module from each of the monitor nodes 200-N through the primarychannel. When it is unable to communicate with a specific monitor node200-N through the primary channel, the manager node 100 may obtain dataof the specific monitor node 200-N through the secondary channel.

When it is unable to communicate with a specific monitor node 200-Nthrough the primary channel and the secondary channel, the manager node100 may obtain battery data of the specific monitor node 200-N from amonitor node 200-N set as a relay node.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the nodes 100 and 200-N may performshort-range wireless communication therebetween to configure a mesh-typenetwork. Also, a monitor node 200-N participating in the network maywithdraw the network, and a new monitor node 200-N may participate inthe network. The new monitor node 200-N participating in the network maybroadcast identification information (for example, an address) thereofto notify the nodes 100 and 200-N, participating in the network, of theidentification information thereof and may obtain identificationinformation about each of the nodes 100 and 200-N participating in thenetwork, thereby participating in the network.

When a new node (for example, a new monitor node 200-N) participates inthe network, the manager node 100 may transmit, to the new monitor node200-N, primary channel identification information (for example, afrequency of the primary channel) and secondary channel identificationinformation (for example, a frequency of the secondary channel) aboutthe primary channel and the secondary channel which are operatingcurrently, and thus, may preferentially communicate with the new monitornode 200-N through the primary channel. When a state of the primarychannel is abnormal, the manager node 100 may communicate with the newmonitor node 200-N by using the secondary channel.

The manager node 100 may search for channels other than the primarychannel and the secondary channel by using the primary wirelesscommunication unit 110 or the secondary wireless communication unit 120,evaluate the quality of each of the channels, select a best-qualitychannel as a preliminary primary channel from among the channels, andselect a best-quality channel as a preliminary secondary channel fromamong channels having a difference of a previously-set separationfrequency (for example, 30 MHz) or more with respect to the preliminaryprimary channel. The preliminary primary channel and the preliminarysecondary channel may be channels used as a primary channel and asecondary channel in a process of changing a channel. Such a channelsearch operation (i.e., channel scanning) may be repeated at apreviously-set periodic interval, and thus, each of the preliminaryprimary channel and the preliminary secondary channel may be frequentlychanged.

In order to evaluate the quality of each of channels, the manager node100 may frequently search for the channels by using the primary wirelesscommunication unit 110 or the secondary wireless communication unit 120and may perform energy detection and frame detection on each of foundchannels. The energy detection may be an operation of detecting anenergy level of a frequency used for a corresponding channel, and as aresult value having a dB unit is obtained and a value dB increases, acorresponding channel may be determined as a channel which is much used.Also, the frame detection may be an operation of checking whether thereis a preamble of another data frame unused by the manager node 100, andframe detection or frame non-detection may be obtained as a resultvalue. That is, the manager node 100 may measure an energy level valueof a frequency used for a corresponding channel on the basis of energydetection and may check whether a data frame other than a data frame(see FIG. 2) according to the present disclosure is transmitted andreceived through the corresponding channel, based on frame detection. Aweight value may be applied to an energy detection result value of achannel so that a quality evaluation value of the channel increases asthe energy detection result value of the channel is lowered, and aweight value may be applied to a frame detection result value so that aquality evaluation value of a channel increases when a frame is notdetected in the channel. Accordingly, the manager node 100 maydetermine, as a preliminary primary channel, a channel where a frame isnot detected and an energy detection result value thereof is low.

The manager node 100 may continuously monitor whether a state of acurrently-used primary channel is abnormal, and when it is determinedthat a channel state is abnormal, the manager node 100 may activate(i.e., flag=true) a channel change flag. Furthermore, the manager node100 may broadcast, to all monitor nodes 200-N, channel change dataincluding the activated channel change flag, identification information(for example, a frequency) about a currently-set preliminary primarychannel, and identification information about a currently-setpreliminary secondary channel.

When the channel change data is broadcasted, the manager node 100 andthe monitor node 200-N may change a primary channel to the preliminaryprimary channel and a secondary channel to the preliminary secondarychannel at a predetermined time. The predetermined time for the channelchange may be a time after a certain time elapses from a time when thechannel change data is broadcasted. In another embodiment, the managernode 100 may set a channel change time and may add the set channelchange time to the channel change data, and in this case, the managernode 100 and the monitor node 200-N may change a primary channel and asecondary channel at the channel change time.

The manager node 100 and each of the monitor nodes 200-N may communicatewith each other by using a data frame having a predefined format. Themanager node 100 may transmit a beacon, placed at a first portion of thedata frame, to each of the monitor nodes 200-N to synchronize a slottiming included in the data frame.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a data stream according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, a data stream used for wireless communicationaccording to the present disclosure may include a plurality of timeslots including a manager slot, a transmission slot, and a routing slotand may have a certain time length Tms. A predetermined time section maybe allocated to the manager slot, the transmission slot, and the routingslot of the data stream, and an arrangement order of the manager slot,the transmission slot, and the routing slot may be constant. In the datastream, a first-arranged manager slot may be a dedicated slot used forthe manager node 100 and may include a beacon. The beacon may perform afunction of notifying the start of the data stream, and thus, maysynchronize a slot timing. The manager node 100 may continuouslytransmit the beacon at a certain periodic interval. The manager node 100may transmit the beacon through each of a primary channel and asecondary channel. In this case, the manager node 100 may differently oridentically set a beacon transmission timing based on the primarychannel and a beacon transmission timing based on the secondary channel.

Each of the monitor nodes 200-N may recognize a start time of the datastream on the basis of the beacon and may extract the manager slot, thetransmission slot, and the routing slot each having apreviously-allocated time from the data stream on the basis of thebeacon. Also, each of the monitor nodes 200-N may determine acommunication state of each of the primary channel and the secondarychannel on the basis of whether a beacon signal is continuouslyreceived.

In the data stream, the manager slot may be a slot which is used for themanager node 100 to control each of the monitor nodes 200-N. The managerslot may include channel change data or a relay mode list.

The transmission slot may be a section where data of each of the monitornodes 200-N is transmitted and may be a dedicated slot for each of themonitor nodes 200-N. The transmission slot may be divided based on thenumber of extensible monitor nodes 200-N or the number of monitor nodeswhich are currently communicating (i.e., participating in a network),and a divided transmission slot section may be allocated for a specificmonitor node 200-N. In FIG. 2, the transmission slot may be divided intosix sections, and it is illustrated that M1 is a dedicated slotallocated to a monitor node #1 200-1, M2 is a dedicated slot allocatedto a monitor node #2 200-2, M3 is a dedicated slot allocated to amonitor node #3 200-3, M4 is a dedicated slot allocated to a monitornode #4 200-4, M5 is a dedicated slot allocated to a monitor node #5200-5, and M6 is a dedicated slot allocated to a monitor node #6 200-6.Also, the routing slot may be a slot which is used when there is amonitor node 200-N which is impossible to perform communication throughthe primary channel and the secondary channel, a routing path of dataand battery data may be recorded therein. An example where the routingslot is used will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. 7and 8.

The routing slot may not be a slot which is allocated to only onemonitor node 200-N, and thus, when data is transmitted during therouting slot, a collision of data may occur. Therefore, each of themonitor nodes 200-N may apply identification information (for example, ahost name, an address, a serial number, etc.) thereof to a randomfunction as a seed, and then, may determine a result value of the randomfunction as a transmission timing of the routing slot. An arbitrary timeof a section where the routing slot is allocated may occur as the resultvalue of the random function. For example, when the routing slot has atime section having a range from 91 ms to 100 ms, the result value ofthe random function may be one of 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99,and 100, and the monitor node 200-N may determine the result value as atransmission timing of the routing slot. Also, the transmission timingdetermined based on the random function may overlap between the monitornodes 200-N, and thus, each of the monitor nodes 200-N may not use arouting slot in another monitor node 200-N and may transmit dataincluded in the routing slot at an exclusive time available thereby. Inthis case, each of the monitor nodes 200-N may exclusively transmit dataduring the routing slot on the basis of carrier sense multiple accesswith collision avoidance (CSMA-CA).

Each of the monitor nodes 200-N may include one wireless communicationunit 210-N and may communicate with the manager node 100 and aperipheral monitor node 200-N by using the wireless communication unit210-N. Each of the monitor nodes 200-N may collect battery dataincluding one or more of a self-diagnosis result and sensing information(for example, a temperature, humidity, a voltage, a current, etc.) aboutone or more battery modules equipped with a corresponding monitor nodeand may report the battery data to the manager node 100, based oncontrol by the manager node 100.

Each of the monitor nodes 200-N may preferentially communicate with themanager node 100 through a primary channel. In a case where performscommunication through the primary channel, a wireless link may be formedbetween the primary wireless communication unit 110 of the manager node100 and the wireless communication unit 210-N of the monitor node 200-N.When a communication state of the primary channel is abnormal, each ofthe monitor nodes 200-N may communicate with the manager node 100 byusing a secondary channel instead of the primary channel.

Each of the monitor nodes 200-N may change a frequency of the wirelesscommunication unit 210-N so that the primary channel and the secondarychannel are alternately changed at a certain interval, and thus, maymonitor whether the beacon is continuously received through the primarychannel and the beacon is continuously received through the secondarychannel, thereby checking a state of each of the primary channel and thesecondary channel. When the beacon is normally received through theprimary channel, each of the monitor nodes 200-N may communicate withthe manager node 100 by using the primary channel, and when the beaconis not received through the primary channel (i.e., when the beacon isnot received through the primary channel for a certain time), each ofthe monitor nodes 200-N may communicate with the manager node 100 byusing the secondary channel.

When all of the primary channel and the secondary channel correspondingto the manager node 100 are abnormal, a corresponding monitor node 200-Nmay broadcast data, which is to be transferred to the manager node 100,to another peripheral monitor node 200-N, and thus, may allow datathereof to be transferred to the manager node 100 through one or moremonitor nodes 200-N selected as a relay node. A method of setting arelay node in the manager node 100 will be described below in detailwith reference to FIG. 9.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a network state occurring in a casewhere a manager node communicates with a monitor node by using only aprimary channel.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a data frame structure generated in acase where a manager node communicates with a monitor node by using onlya primary channel.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, when all primary channels between a managernode 100 and a plurality of monitor nodes 200-N operate normally, datatransmitted and received between the manager node 100 and each of themonitor nodes 200-N may pass through a primary channel, and the managernode 100 may communicate with each of the monitor nodes 200-N by using aprimary wireless communication unit 110. In FIG. 3, a wireless linkformed between the manager node 100 and each of the monitor nodes 200-Nis illustrated as a solid line.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, battery data transmitted from each of aplurality of monitor nodes 200-N to a manager node 100 may betransmitted through a primary channel, and when all of primary channelsare normal, the battery data may not be included in a secondary channeland a routing slot. In FIG. 4, “P” in a tetragonal box may denotebattery data collected by a corresponding monitor node 200-N.

In a state where a primary channel is being used, communication of aprimary channel which is being used between a specific monitor node200-3 and a manager node 100 is impossible, and thus, a secondarychannel may be used for the specific monitor node 200-3.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a network state occurring in a casewhere a manager node communicates with a monitor node by using asecondary channel.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a data frame structure generated in acase where a manager node communicates with a monitor node by using asecondary channel.

In FIGS. 5 and 6, it is illustrated that primary channel communicationbetween a monitor node #3 200-3 and a manager node 100 is impossible,and thus, the monitor node #3 200-3 and the manager node 100 performcommunication through a secondary channel. When it is sensed that astate of a primary channel is abnormal, the monitor node #3 200-3 maytransmit battery data through the secondary channel. For example, themonitor node #3 200-3 may transmit the battery data to the manager node100 by using the primary channel during a transmission slot allocatedthereto, but a response ACK corresponding thereto may not be receivedthrough the primary channel for a predetermined time. In this case, themonitor node #3 200-3 may determine that communication of the primarychannel is impossible, change a frequency of a wireless communicationunit 210-3 to a frequency of a secondary channel, and transmit thebattery data through the secondary channel instead of the primarychannel. As another example, when a beacon signal is not receivedthrough the primary channel for a predetermined time, the monitor node#3 200-3 may change the frequency of the wireless communication unit210-3 to the frequency of the secondary channel and may transmit thebattery data through the secondary channel instead of the primarychannel.

FIG. 6 illustrates a data frame when the secondary channel is used foronly communication between the monitor node #3 200-3 and the managernode 100 and the other monitor nodes 200-1, 200-2, 200-4, 200-5, and200-6 perform communication by using the primary channel. As illustratedin FIG. 6, data of the monitor node #3 200-3 may be transmitted to themanager node 100 through the secondary channel, and battery data of theother monitor node #1 200-1, monitor node #2 200-2, monitor node #4200-4, monitor node #5 200-5, monitor node #6 200-6 may be transmittedthrough the primary channel.

When communications of all of the primary channel and the secondarychannel are abnormal, the monitor node 200-N may transmit battery datato the manager node 100 by using another monitor node 200-N selected asa relay node.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example where data of a monitor nodeis provided to a manager node via another monitor node.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a data frame structure generated in acase where a manager node communicates with a monitor node by usinganother monitor node.

One or more monitor nodes 200-N may be selected as relay nodes fromamong a plurality of monitor nodes 200-N. The selection of the relaynodes may be determined by a manager node 100. The manager node 100, asdescribed below with reference to FIG. 9, may select a relay node on thebasis of a received signal strength (for example, a received signalstrength indicator (RSSI)) of each of the monitor nodes 200-N.

In FIGS. 7 and 8, it is illustrated that a monitor node #2 200-2 isselected as a relay node and routes data of a monitor node #3 200-3 tothe manager node 100.

When it is sensed that all of a primary channel and a secondary channelare impossible to communicate, the monitor node #3 200-3 may broadcastbattery data, which is to transmitted to the manager node 100, to theother monitor nodes 200-1, 200-2, 200-4, 200-5, and 200-6. For example,the monitor node #3 200-3 may transmit the battery data to the managernode 100 by using the secondary channel during a dedicated transmissionslot, but when a response ACK of the manager node 100 is not receivedthrough the secondary channel for a predetermined time, the monitor node#3 200-3 may determine that communication of the secondary channel aswell as the primary channel is impossible, the monitor node #3 200-3 maybroadcast the battery data to peripheral monitor nodes 200-1, 200-2,200-4, 200-5, and 200-6. In this case, the monitor node #3 200-3 maybroadcast the battery data by using one or all of the primary channeland the secondary channel. In order to prevent a data collision withanother monitor node, the monitor node #3 200-3 may transmit batterydata included in the routing slot at an exclusive time enabling the useof only a routing slot thereof without using a routing slot of the othermonitor node. In this case, the monitor node #3 200-3 may broadcast thebattery data during the routing slot on the basis of CSMA-CA. Then, themonitor node #2 200-2 selected as a relay node may transfer the batterydata, received from the monitor node #3 200-3, to the manager node 100.Likewise, the monitor node #2 200-2 may transfer data of the monitornode #3 200-3 to the manager node 100 on the basis of CSMA-CA.

Monitor nodes unselected as relay nodes may ignore data received fromthe monitor node #3 200-3 without routing the received data.

In FIG. 7, it is illustrated that communications of all of the primarychannel and the secondary channel between the manager node 100 and themonitor node #3 200-3 are impossible, and thus, the battery data of themonitor node #3 200-3 is routed through the monitor node #2 200-2 whichis a relay node.

FIG. 8 illustrates data frame when battery data is routed between themonitor node #3 200-3 and the manager node 100 by using a relay node andthe other monitor nodes 200-1, 200-2, 200-4, 200-5, and 200-6 performdirect communication by using the primary channel. As illustrated inFIG. 8, data transmitted and received between the monitor node #3 200-3and the manager node 100 may be transmitted and received during arouting slot. Node information (i.e., routing information) abouttransmission of corresponding data may be recorded in the routing slot,and a third party node which has received data through the routing slotmay transmit data or a response ACK to a corresponding node in thereverse order of corresponding routing information. A routing slotillustrated in FIG. 8 may represent that data is sequentiallytransmitted to the monitor node #3 200-3, the monitor node #2 200-2, andthe manager node 100 (i.e., monitor node #3 200-3->monitor node #2200-2->manager node 100).

FIG. 9 is a flowchart describing a process of setting a relay node androuting battery data through the relay node, according to an embodimentof the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, when data is received from each of a plurality ofmonitor nodes 200-N, a manager node 100 may check a received signalstrength of each monitor node 200-N occurring at a time when the data isreceived in operation S901. The received signal strength may be measuredbased on a wireless signal which is transmitted from each monitor node200-N and is received by the manager node 100, and the manager node 100may use an RSSI as the received signal strength.

Subsequently, the manager node 100 may sort the received signalstrengths of the monitor nodes 200-N in a level order, select monitornodes, corresponding to a certain priority (for example, No. 3priority), as relay nodes from among the monitor nodes 200-N, andgenerate a relay node list including identification information aboutthe monitor nodes selected as the relay nodes in operation S903. At thistime, the manager node 100 may assign a priority to each of the monitornodes 200-N in the order of levels of received signal strengths and mayadd priority information thereof to the relay node list. In FIG. 9, itmay be assumed that a monitor node #1 200-1, a monitor node #2 200-2,and a monitor node #6 200-6 are selected as relay nodes and a priorityis the order of the monitor node #2 200-2, the monitor node #1 200-1,and the monitor node #6 200-6.

Subsequently, the manager node 100 may transmit the relay node list tomonitor nodes 200-1, 200-2, and 200-6 selected as relay nodes inoperations S905, S907, and S909 and may allow the relay node list in themonitor nodes 200-1, 200-2, and 200-6. In another embodiment, themanager node 100 may broadcast the relay node list. Also, the managernode 100 may frequently check the received signal strengths of themonitor nodes 200-N to generate a new relay node list and may transmitthe new relay node list to the monitor nodes 200-N to update apre-stored relay node list.

In a state where a relay node is selected in this manner, when datatransmission based on all of a primary channel and a secondary channelfails, a monitor node #3 200-3 may broadcast battery data to the othermonitor nodes 200-1, 200-2, 200-4, 200-5, and 200-6 at a time enablingthe exclusive use of a routing slot in operations S911 and S913. In thiscase, the monitor node #3 200-3 may broadcast the battery data by usingone or all of the primary channel and the secondary channel. Also, themonitor node #3 200-3 may broadcast the battery data during a routingslot section.

When the broadcasted battery data is received, each of the monitor node#1 200-1, the monitor node #2 200-2, and the monitor node #6 200-6selected as the relay nodes may temporarily store the battery data inoperations S915, S917, and S919. Even when the battery data is receivedfrom the monitor node #3 200-3, the monitor nodes 200-4 and 200-5unselected as a relay node may delete the battery data without storingthe battery data. Some of the monitor nodes 200-1, 200-2, and 200-6selected as relay nodes may not receive the battery data on the basis ofa communication state with the monitor node #3 200-3. In this case, aplurality of relay nodes may be determined.

When the monitor node #2 200-2 determined as No. 1 priority among relaynodes receives the broadcasted battery data, the monitor node #2 200-2may transmit the battery data to the manager node 100 by using theprimary channel or the secondary channel in operation S921. Likewise,the monitor node #2 200-2 may transmit the battery data to the managernode 100 at a time enabling the exclusive use of a routing slot.

The monitor node #1 200-1 and the monitor node #6 200-6, which areselected as relay nodes and are low in priority, may monitor whetherbattery data is routed by the monitor node #2 200-2. The monitor node #1200-1 and the monitor node #6 200-6 may check whether the battery datais routed to the manager node 100 during a routing slot of the primarychannel or the secondary channel, thereby determining whether themonitor node #2 200-2 normally routes the battery data.

When it is determined that the monitor node #2 200-2 normally routesbattery data of the monitor node #3 200-3 as a result of the monitoring(i.e., when the battery data is transmitted to the manager node), themonitor node #1 200-1 and the monitor node #6 200-6 may delete thetemporarily stored data of the monitor node #3 200-3 in operations S923and S925.

In a case where the monitor node #2 200-2 cannot transmit the batterydata of the monitor node #3 200-3 to the manager node 100 for apredetermined time, the monitor node #1 200-1 corresponding to No. 2priority may transmit the temporarily stored battery data of the monitornode #3 200-3 to the manager node 100. Also, even in a case where themonitor node #1 200-1 cannot transmit the battery data of the monitornode #3 200-3 to the manager node 100, the monitor node #6 200-6corresponding to No. 3 priority may transmit the temporarily storedbattery data of the monitor node #3 200-3 to the manager node 100.

Moreover, a routing path of battery data may be recorded in a routingslot. When the manager node 100 receives the battery data of the monitornode #3 200-3, the manager node 100 may transmit a response ACK to themonitor node #3 200-3 in the reverse order of the routing path.

As described above, when the monitor node #2 200-2 which is a No.1-priority relay node routes the battery data of the monitor node #3200-3 but routing performed by the No. 1-priority relay node fails, aNo. 2-priority relay node and a No. 3-priority relay node maysequentially perform routing of the battery data.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a manager node 100according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the manager node 100 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may include a first wirelesscommunication unit 110, a second wireless communication unit 120, astorage unit 130, and a manager controller 140.

The first wireless communication unit 110 may be the above-describedprimary wireless communication unit and may form a primary channel alongwith a monitor node 200-N.

The second wireless communication unit 120 may be the above-describedsecondary wireless communication unit and may form a secondary channelalong with the monitor node 200-N.

The first wireless communication unit 110 and the secondary wirelesscommunication unit 120 may each include a radio frequency (RF) circuitfor performing short-range wireless communication. Also, each of thefirst wireless communication unit 110 and the second wirelesscommunication unit 120 may broadcast a beacon at a certain periodicinterval. A transmission timing of a beacon transmitted by the firstwireless communication unit 110 may be the same as or different from atransmission timing of a beacon transmitted by the second wirelesscommunication unit 120.

The storage unit 130 may be a storage means such as a memory or a diskdevice and may store various programs and data for operating the managernode 100. Particularly, the storage unit 130 may store a program (or aninstruction set) where an algorithm for executing an operation of themanager node 100 described above is defined. Also, the storage unit 130may store battery data received from each of a plurality of monitornodes 200-N.

The manager controller 140, an operation processing device such as amicroprocessor, may control an overall operation of the manager node 100and may generate data for controlling the monitor nodes 200-N. Themanager controller 140 may install data, associated with the program (orthe instruction set) stored in the storage unit 130, in a memory and mayperform wireless communication and a channel change operation accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The manager controller 140 may obtain the battery data of each monitornodes 200-N by using the first wireless communication unit 110 or thesecond wireless communication unit 120 and may analyze the battery datato check states of battery modules including the monitor node 200-N.Also, the manager controller 140 may overall analyze the battery data tocheck a state of a battery pack and may control charging anddischarging, based thereon.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the managercontroller 140 may set a frequency of the first wireless communicationunit 110 to a first frequency of a primary channel and may form ashort-range wireless link along with each of the monitor nodes 200-N byusing the first wireless communication unit 110. Also, the managercontroller 140 may set a frequency of the second wireless communicationunit 120 to a second frequency of a secondary channel and may form ashort-range wireless link along with one or more monitor nodes 200-N byusing the second wireless communication unit 120. Also, the managercontroller 140 may communicate with the monitor nodes 200-N bypreferentially using the first wireless communication unit 110, and whenit is impossible to communicate with a specific monitor node 200-Nthrough the primary channel (i.e., by using the first wirelesscommunication unit), the manager controller 140 may communicate with thespecific monitor node 200-N by using a secondary channel formed by thesecond wireless communication unit 120.

Moreover, the manager controller 140 may search for channel other thanthe primary channel and the secondary channel by using the secondwireless communication unit 120 or the first wireless communication unit110, evaluate the quality of each of found channels, and select abest-quality channel as a preliminary primary channel from among thefound channels. Also, the manager controller 140 may select abest-quality channel as a preliminary secondary channel from amongchannels having a difference of a previously-set separation frequency(for example, 30 MHz) or more with respect to the preliminary primarychannel.

In order to evaluate the quality of each of channels, the managercontroller 140 may frequently search for the channels by using theprimary wireless communication unit 110 or the secondary wirelesscommunication unit 120 and may perform energy detection and framedetection on each of found channels. Subsequently, the managercontroller 140 may apply a first weight value to an energy detectionresult value of each channel, apply a second weight value to a framedetection result value of each channel, and summate a weight-appliedenergy detection result value and a weight-applied frame detectionresult value, thereby evaluating the quality of each channel as anumerical value.

The manager controller 140 may continuously monitor a state of theprimary channel which is currently set. The manager controller 140 maycheck the degree of degradation of the primary channel on the basis ofone or more of the number of non-receptions of data or ACK, an energydetection result value of the primary channel, and a frame detectionresult value of the primary channel. In this case, the managercontroller 140 may apply a third weight value to the number ofnon-receptions of data, apply a fourth weight value to the energydetection result value of the primary channel, apply a fifth weightvalue to the frame detection result value of the primary channel, andsummate a weight-applied number of non-receptions, a weight-appliedenergy detection result value, and a weight-applied frame detectionresult value, thereby checking the degree of degradation of the primarychannel as a numerical value. The first weight value may be the same asthe fourth weight value, and the second weight value may be the same asthe fifth weight value.

When it is determined that the primary channel is degraded, the managercontroller 140 may perform a process of changing a channel. In detail,when it is determined that the primary channel is degraded, the managercontroller 140 may activate (i.e., flag=true) a channel change flag andmay check identification information about a currently-set preliminaryprimary channel and identification information about a currently-setpreliminary secondary channel. Furthermore, the manager controller 140may broadcast, to all monitor nodes 200-N, channel change data includingchannel change flag activation information, the identificationinformation about the preliminary primary channel, and theidentification information about the preliminary secondary channel. Inthis case, the manager controller 140 may broadcast the channel changedata by using all of the first wireless communication unit 110 and thesecond wireless communication unit 120. At this time, the managercontroller 140 may broadcast the channel change data during a managerslot among slots of data frame. Also, the manager controller 140 may adda channel change time to the channel change data.

When the channel change flag is activated, at the channel change time,the manager controller 140 may change a frequency of the first wirelesscommunication unit 110 to a frequency of the preliminary primary channelto change the primary channel and may change a frequency of the secondwireless communication unit 120 to a frequency of the preliminarysecondary channel to change the secondary channel. When the channelchange operation is completed, the manager controller 140 may deactivate(i.e., flag=false) the channel change flag.

Moreover, as described above with reference to FIG. 9, the managercontroller 140 may measure an RSSI of each monitor node 200-N by usingone or more of the first wireless communication unit 110 and the secondwireless communication unit 120 and may generate a relay node listincluding a priority and identification information about a relay nodeon the basis of the RSSI of each monitor node 200-N. The managercontroller 140 may broadcast the relay node list to the monitor nodes200-N, or may multicast the relay node list to the monitor nodes 200-Nincluded in the relay node list.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart describing a periodic operation of a managernode, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 11, when an operation period arrives, the managercontroller 140 may check whether a channel change flag is activated inoperation S1101.

When the channel change flag is activated in operation S1103 (No), at apredetermined time, the manager controller 140 may change a frequency ofthe first wireless communication unit 110 to a frequency of apreliminary primary channel to change a primary channel and may change afrequency of the second wireless communication unit 120 to a frequencyof a preliminary secondary channel to change a secondary channel inoperation S1105. When such a channel change operation is completed, themanager controller 140 may deactivate (i.e., flag=false) the channelchange flag.

When the channel change flag is deactivated in operation S1103 (Yes),the manager controller 140 may transmit data including a beacon and acontrol instruction to the monitor node 200-N by using each of the firstwireless communication unit 110 and the second wireless communicationunit 120 during a manager slot in operation S1107. That is, the managercontroller 140 may transmit the data to each of the primary channel andthe secondary channel. In FIG. 11, the control instruction is describedas an instruction for requesting battery data.

Subsequently, by using the first wireless communication unit 110 and thesecond wireless communication unit 120, the manager controller 140 maycheck whether a response ACK representing the normal reception or not ofthe data is received from all monitor nodes 200-N, and when there is amonitor node 200-N from which the response ACK is not received inoperation S1109 (No), the manager controller 140 may increase the numberof non-receptions in proportion to the number of not received responsesACK in operation S1111. The number of non-receptions may be used tocalculate the degree of degradation of the primary channel.

On the other hand, when the response ACK is received from all monitornodes 200-N in operation S1109 (Yes), the manager controller 140 maystand by reception of battery data of each of the monitor nodes 200-Nbased on the control instruction in operation S1113. When the batterydata based on the control instruction is not received from one or moremonitor nodes 200-N and the omission of data occurs in operation S1115(No), the manager controller 140 may increase the number ofnon-receptions in proportion to the number of omitted battery data inoperation S1111.

When the battery data based on the control instruction is received fromall monitor nodes 200-N, the manager controller 140 may store data,received from each of the monitor nodes 200-N, in the storage unit 130in operation S1117.

A procedure illustrated in FIG. 11 described above may correspond to onecycle, and the manager controller 140 may repeat each operation of FIG.11 at a certain periodic interval.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart describing a method of activating a channelchange flag in a manager node, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 12, the manager controller 140 of the manager node 100may monitor whether a predetermined analysis period arrives, and whenthe predetermined analysis period arrives in operation S1201 (Yes), byusing the first wireless communication unit 110, the manager controller140 may perform energy detection and frame detection on a primarychannel, and then, may check an energy detection result value and aframe detection result value of the primary channel in operation S1203.

Subsequently, the manager controller 140 may check the currently-countednumber of non-receptions in operation S1205, may apply different weightvalues to the number of non-receptions and the energy detection resultvalue and the frame detection result value of the primary channel, andsummate a weight-applied number of non-receptions, a weight-appliedenergy detection result value, and a weight-applied frame detectionresult value to calculate the degree of channel degradation in operationS1207.

Subsequently, the manager controller 140 may check whether thecalculated degree of channel degradation is within a predeterminednormal range, and when the degree of channel degradation is outside thenormal range in operation S1209 (Yes), the manager controller 140 maystart a channel change process. That is, the manager controller 140 mayactivate a channel change flag which is currently set to be deactivatedin operation S1211 and may check a preliminary primary channel and apreliminary secondary channel which are currently set in operationS1213. Subsequently, the manager controller 140 may broadcast, to allmonitor nodes 200-N, channel change data including the activated channelchange flag, identification information about the preliminary primarychannel, and identification information about the preliminary secondarychannel in operation S1215. In this case, the manager controller 140 maybroadcast the channel change data to the primary channel and thesecondary channel by using all of the first wireless communication unit110 and the second wireless communication unit 120. The channel changedata may be broadcasted during a manager slot of a data frame.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a monitor node 200according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the monitor node 200 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may include a wirelesscommunication unit 210, a storage unit 220, an interface 230, and amonitor controller 240.

The wireless communication unit 210 may preferentially communicate witha manager node 100 through a primary channel, and when communication ofthe primary channel is impossible, the wireless communication unit 210may communicate with the manager node 100 by changing a frequencythereof to a frequency of a secondary channel. The wirelesscommunication unit 210 may include an RF circuit for performingshort-range wireless communication. The wireless communication unit 210may change a frequency thereof so that the primary channel and thesecondary channel are alternately changed at a certain time interval.Therefore, the monitor node 200 may monitor states of the primarychannel and the secondary channel despite using one wirelesscommunication unit 210.

The storage unit 220 may be a storage means such as a memory or a diskdevice and may store various programs and data for operating the monitornode 200. Particularly, the storage unit 220 may store a program (or aninstruction set) where an algorithm for executing an operation of themonitor node 200 described above is defined.

The interface 230 may be an element which supports a communicationconnection with a battery module 20 equipped with the monitor node 200and may use a bus cable, a cable, or the like, or may use CANcommunication. The monitor node 200 may obtain, through the interface230, battery data generated in the battery module 20.

The manager controller 240, an operation processing device such as amicroprocessor, may control an overall operation of the monitor node200. The monitor controller 240 may install data, associated with theprogram (or the instruction set) stored in the storage unit 220, in amemory and may perform wireless communication and a channel changeoperation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The monitor controller 240 may obtain various data such as atemperature, a current, and a voltage of the battery module 20 throughthe interface 230 and may measure an AFE of the battery module 20 andmay inspect a state (i.e., diagnostic test) of the battery module 20.Also, the monitor controller 240 may transmit battery data, includingone or more of a current, a voltage, a temperature, and self-diagnosisdata, to the manager node 100 by using the wireless communication unit210. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the monitorcontroller 240 may determine whether a beacon of the primary channel anda beacon of the secondary channel are continuously received from thewireless communication unit 210, thereby checking a communication stateof each of the primary channel and the secondary channel. The monitorcontroller 240 may determine, as a communication-disabled channel, achannel through which a beacon is not received for a certain time ormore.

When communications of all of the primary channel and the secondarychannel are possible, the monitor controller 240 may communicate withthe manager node 100 by using the primary channel. When it is determinedthat communication of the primary channel is impossible, the monitorcontroller 240 may communicate with the manager node 100 by using thesecondary channel. The monitor controller 240 may transmit battery datato the manager node 100 through communication based on the primarychannel or the secondary channel and may receive control data, such as achannel change indication, an inspection indication, and a data reportindication, from the manager node 100.

When a relay node list is received from the manager node 100, themonitor controller 240 may store the relay node list in the storage unit220. When the relay node list includes identification information aboutthe monitor node 200 equipped with the monitor controller 240, themonitor controller 240 may transmit battery data, broadcasted fromanother monitor node, to the manager node 100.

When it is unable to communicate with the manager node 100 despite usingall of the primary channel and the secondary channel, the monitorcontroller 240 may broadcast battery data, which is to be transmitted tothe manager node 100, to another monitor node, and thus, the batterydata may be routed to the manager node 100 through the monitor nodedetermined as a relay node. The monitor controller 240 may applyidentification information thereof to a random function as a seed, andthen, may determine a result value of the random function as atransmission timing of a routing slot. The monitor controller 240 maybroadcast the battery data to another monitor node at a timecorresponding to the transmission timing in a total section of therouting slot. The transmission timing may overlap between monitor nodes,and thus, the monitor controller 240 may broadcast battery data includedin a routing slot at an exclusive time when another monitor node doesnot use the routing slot. In an embodiment, the monitor node 240 maybroadcast the battery data by using CSMA-CA.

When the wireless communication unit 210 receives channel change dataincluding channel change flag activation information, identificationinformation about a preliminary primary channel, and identificationinformation about a preliminary secondary channel from the manager node100, the monitor controller 240 may activate a channel change flag.Furthermore, at a predetermine time, the monitor controller 240 maychange a frequency of a primary channel, set in the wirelesscommunication unit 210, to a frequency of the preliminary primarychannel and may change a frequency of a secondary channel, set in thewireless communication unit 210, to a frequency of the preliminarysecondary channel.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart describing a method of transmitting, by a monitornode, data to a manager node by using one of a primary channel, asecondary channel, and a relay node, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 14, in operation S1401, the monitor controller 240 ofthe monitor node 200 may continuously check a beacon of each of aprimary channel and a secondary channel by using the wirelesscommunication unit 210.

Subsequently, when a manager slot including a beacon is received fromthe wireless communication unit 210, the monitor controller 240 mayobtain battery data corresponding to an instruction included in themanager slot. Subsequently, the monitor controller 240 may perform aprocess of selecting a path for transmitting the battery data. Indetail, in operation S1403, the monitor controller 240 may determinewhether the primary channel is normal (i.e., whether communication ispossible), based on the checked beacon of the primary channel. When abeacon is received through the primary channel formed in the wirelesscommunication unit 210, the monitor controller 240 may determine thatthe primary channel is normal, and when a beacon is not received for acertain time, the monitor controller 240 may determine that the primarychannel is abnormal and thus communication thereof is impossible.Subsequently, when the primary channel is normal in operation S1403(Yes), the monitor controller 240 may transmit the battery data to themanager node 100 by using the primary channel formed in the wirelesscommunication unit 210 in operation S1405.

Subsequently, in operation S1407, the monitor controller 240 may monitorwhether an ACK message is received through the primary channel of thewireless communication unit 210 for a certain time. When the ACK messageis received through the primary channel from the manager node 100 forthe certain time in operation S1407 (Yes), the monitor controller 240may determine that the battery data is normally transmitted to themanager node 100 and may end a corresponding cycle.

When it is determined in operation S1403 that a state of the primarychannel is abnormal and thus communication of the primary channel isimpossible or it is determined in operation S1407 that the ACK messageis not received for the certain time, the monitor controller 240 maydetermine whether a state of the secondary channel is normal, based on abeacon of the secondary channel in operation S1409. When the beacon isreceived through the secondary channel formed in the wirelesscommunication unit 210, the monitor controller 240 may determine thatthe secondary channel is normal, and when the beacon is not received forthe certain time, the monitor controller 240 may determine that thesecondary channel is abnormal and thus communication thereof isimpossible.

Subsequently, when the secondary channel is normal and thuscommunication of the secondary channel is possible in operation S1409(Yes), the monitor controller 240 may transmit the battery data to themanager node 100 by using the secondary channel formed in the wirelesscommunication unit 210 in operation S1411. When the ACK message isreceived through the secondary channel from the manager node 100 for thecertain time in operation S1413 (Yes), the monitor controller 240 maydetermine that the battery data is normally transmitted to the managernode 100 and may end a corresponding cycle.

On the other hand, when it is determined in operation S1409 that a stateof the secondary channel is abnormal and thus communication of thesecondary channel is impossible or it is determined in operation S1413that the ACK message is not received through the secondary channel forthe certain time, the monitor controller 240 may broadcast the batterydata to a peripheral monitor node, thereby allowing the battery data tobe transmitted through a monitor node which is set as a relay node inoperation S1415.

Moreover, the monitor node 200 may be determined as a relay node on thebasis of control by the manager node 100. In a state where the monitornode 200 is determined as the relay node, when battery data broadcastedby another monitor node is received by the wireless communication unit210, the monitor controller 240 may check a priority of the monitor node200 in the relay node list stored in the storage unit 220. Furthermore,the monitor controller 240 may monitor whether another monitor node,which has a priority higher than the checked priority and is determinedas a relay node, routes the battery data, and when the routing of thebattery data is completed, the monitor controller 240 may delete thebattery data. On the other hand, when routing of the battery dataperformed by another monitor node having a priority higher than thechecked priority fails, the monitor controller 240 may transmit thebattery data to the manager node 100 by using the primary channel or thesecondary channel.

According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, when a state ofa primary channel provided between a manager node and a monitor node isunstable, communication between the manager node and the monitor nodemay be performed by using a secondary channel or the monitor node set asa relay node, thereby preventing the omission of data and communicationdisconnection to stably support wireless communication.

Moreover, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, whencommunication between a manager node and a specific monitor node isunstable, the manager node may change a primary channel and a secondarychannel to stable candidate channels which are secured by searching forchannels, thereby maximally maintaining the stability of each channel.

Moreover, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, amanager node may communicate with a monitor node by using one of threeor more communication paths, and thus, may seamlessly communicate withthe monitor node even in a short-range wireless communicationenvironment and may accurately and quickly control the monitor node.

The above-described feature, structure, and effect of the presentdisclosure are included in at least one embodiment of the presentdisclosure, but are not limited to only one embodiment. Furthermore, thefeature, structure, and effect described in at least one embodiment ofthe present disclosure may be implemented through combination ormodification of other embodiments by those skilled in the art.Therefore, content associated with the combination and modificationshould be construed as being within the scope of the present disclosure.

All of the disclosed methods and procedures described in this disclosurecan be implemented, at least in part, using one or more computerprograms or components. These components may be provided as a series ofcomputer instructions on any conventional computer readable medium ormachine readable medium, including volatile and non-volatile memory,such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, magnetic or optical disks, opticalmemory, or other storage media. The instructions may be provided assoftware or firmware, and may be implemented in whole or in part inhardware components such as ASICs, FPGAs, DSPs, or any other similardevices. The instructions may be configured to be executed by one ormore processors or other hardware components which, when executing theseries of computer instructions, perform or facilitate the performanceof all or part of the disclosed methods and procedures.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present disclosurewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosures. Thus, itis intended that the present disclosure covers the modifications andvariations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

1.-19. (canceled)
 20. A battery management system comprising: a managernode operating a primary channel and a secondary channel based onwireless communication and obtaining battery data from a monitor node byusing the primary channel or the secondary channel; and a monitor nodeconnected to a battery module to collect battery data including one ormore of a current, a voltage, a temperature, and self-diagnosis data ofthe battery module, transmit the collected battery data to the managernode through the primary channel, and when the transmission of thebattery data through the primary channel fails, transmit the batterydata to the manager node through the secondary channel.
 21. The batterymanagement system of claim 20, wherein, when transmission of the batterydata through the secondary channel fails, the monitor node broadcaststhe battery data to another peripheral monitor node, and the batterymanagement system further comprises a relay node receiving thebroadcasted battery data to the monitor node to transmit the batterydata to the manager node.
 22. The battery management system of claim 21,wherein the manager node measures a received signal strength of each ofa plurality of monitor nodes and selecting a monitor node, where a levelof the received signal strength is within a certain priority, as therelay node from among the plurality of monitor nodes.
 23. The batterymanagement system of claim 22, wherein the manager node assigns apriority to each of a plurality of relay nodes in the order of levels ofreceived signal strength thereof, and when transmission of the batterydata performed by another relay node having a higher priority than apriority of the relay node fails, the relay node transmits the batterydata to the manager node.
 24. The battery management system of claim 21,wherein the manager node transmits, to the monitor node, a beacon forsynchronization and a control instruction for control of the monitornode during a manager slot allocated to the manager node among a dataframe including a plurality of time slots, and in a process oftransmitting the battery data to the manager node by using the primarychannel or the secondary channel, the monitor node transmits the batterydata to the manager node during a dedicated transmission slot allocatedto the monitor node among the data frame, and in a process ofbroadcasting the battery data, the monitor node broadcasts the batterydata at a time enabling the exclusive use of the monitor node in a totalrouting slot section of the data frame.
 25. The battery managementsystem of claim 21, wherein the manager node broadcasts channel changedata, including identification information about a preliminary primarychannel and identification information about a preliminary secondarychannel, to each monitor node, and each of the relay node and themonitor node changes the primary channel and the secondary channel onthe basis of the channel change data to communicate with the managernode.
 26. A monitor node comprising: a wireless communication unit setfrequency thereof to one of a primary channel and a secondary channelthrough frequency change to communicate with a manager node; aninterface connected to a battery module; and a monitor controllercollecting battery data including one or more of a current, a voltage, atemperature, and self-diagnosis data of the battery module, transmit thecollected battery data to the manager node by using one of the primarychannel and the secondary channel set in the wireless communicationunit, and when it is unable to transmit the battery data to the managernode by using the primary channel and the secondary channel,broadcasting the battery data to another peripheral monitor node totransmit the battery data to the manager node via a second monitor nodedetermined as a relay node.
 27. The monitor node of claim 26, whereinthe monitor controller checks a beacon of the primary channel and abeacon of the secondary channel by using the wireless communicationunit, and when the beacon of the primary channel and the beacon of thesecondary channel are not received through the wireless communicationunit for a certain time, the monitor controller broadcasts the batterydata to the other peripheral monitor node.
 28. The monitor node of claim26, wherein, when acknowledge (ACK) of the manager node is not receivedafter the battery data is transmitted to the manager node by using theprimary channel set in the wireless communication unit and the ACK ofthe manager node is not received after the battery data is transmittedto the manager node by using the secondary channel set in the wirelesscommunication unit, the monitor controller broadcasts the battery datato the other peripheral monitor node.
 29. The monitor node of claim 26,wherein the wireless communication unit receives channel change datafrom the manager node, and the monitor controller changes the primarychannel of the wireless communication unit on the basis ofidentification information about a preliminary primary channel includedin the channel change data and changes the secondary channel of thewireless communication unit on the basis of identification informationabout a preliminary secondary channel included in the channel changedata.
 30. A method of transmitting data, the method comprising:collecting battery data including one or more of a current, a voltage, atemperature, and self-diagnosis data of a battery module; transmittingthe collected battery data to a manager node through a primary channel;and when the transmission of the collected battery data fails,transmitting the battery data to the manager node through the secondarychannel.
 31. The method of claim 30, further comprising, when thetransmission of the collected battery data through the secondary channelfails, broadcasting the collected battery data to other peripheral nodesto transmit the broadcasted battery data to the manager node via anothernode determined as a relay node.
 32. The method of claim 31, wherein aplurality of other nodes are determined as the relay node, and a relaypriority is assigned to the plurality of other nodes, and the batterydata is sequentially transmitted from a corresponding other node to themanager node in the order in which a priority is reduced from a highpriority to a low priority.
 33. The method of claim 32, wherein theother node determined as the relay node transmits the battery data tothe manager node when transmission of the battery data performed byanother node having a higher relay priority than a relay prioritythereof fails.